Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching
Wordpress Varnish Cache 3.x/4.x/5.x and Nginx Proxy Cache integration
Consider an alternative
Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 600+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 7 years ago, and scores 39/100 on our health check.
- Momentum — downloads up 107.6% vs the previous 30 days
- Small user base (600+ active installs)
- No update in 6 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 5.2 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| cache | >100 |
| caching | >100 |
| nginx | >100 |
| Purge | >100 |
| varnish | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 10 reviews
About Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching
From the official readme · v1.8.3Description
Complete WordPress Varnish Cache 3.x/4.x/5.x and Nginx Proxy Cache integration.
This plugin handles all integration with Varnish Cache and Nginx Proxy Cache. It was designed for high traffic websites.
Main features
- admin interface, see screenshots
- console for manual purges, supports regular expressions so you can purge an entire folder or just a single file
- supports every type of Varnish Cache implementation, see screenshots for examples
- unlimited number of Varnish Cache servers
- use of custom headers when communicating with Varnish Cache does not interfere with other caching plugins, cloudflare, etc
- Varnish Cache configuration generator
- purge key method so you don’t need to setup ACLs
- debugging
- actively maintained
You can control the following from the Varnish Caching admin panel :
- Enable/Disable caching
- Homepage cache TTL
- Cache TTL (for every other page)
- IPs/Hosts to clear cache to support every type of Varnish Cache implementation
- Override default TTL in posts/pages
- Purge key based PURGE
- Logged in cookie
- Debugging option
- console for precise manual purges
This plugin also auto purges Varnish Cache / Nginx Proxy Cache when your site is modified.
Varnish Caching sends a PURGE request to Varnish Cache / Nginx Proxy Cache when a page or post is modified. This occurs when editing, publishing, commenting or deleting an item, and when changing themes.
Not all pages are purged every time, depending on your Varnish / Nginx Proxy Cache configuration. When a post, page, or custom post type is edited, or a new comment is added, only the following pages will purge:
- The front page
- The post/page edited
- Any categories or tags associated with the page
Varnish Cache / Nginx Proxy Cache is a web application accelerator also known as a caching HTTP reverse proxy. You install it in front of any server that speaks HTTP and configure it to cache the contents. This plugin does not install Varnish/Nginx for you, nor does it configure Varnish/Nginx for WordPress. It’s expected you already did that on your own using the provided config files.
Inspired from the following :
- https://wordpress.org/plugins/varnish-http-purge/
- https://github.com/dreamhost/varnish-vcl-collection/
Installation
- You must install Varnish Cache/Nginx Proxy Cache on your server(s)
- Go to the configuration generator. Fill in the backends/ACLs then download the configuration files
- Use these configuration files to configure Varnish Cache server(s). Usualy the configuration files are in /etc/varnish. In most cases you must put the downloaded configuration files in /etc/varnish and restart Varnish Cache
- The configuration generator does not support Nginx for now. Read the Nginx documentation on how to enable proxy cache
Or use the provided Varnish Cache configuration files located in /wp-content/plugins/vcaching/varnish-conf folder.
You can also use the purge key method if you can’t setup ACLs. You must fill in lib/purge.vcl the purge key.
Changelog
Users using 1.3 Varnish Cache VCLs should upgrade to 1.4
1.8.3
- scheduled posts flush
1.8.2
- readme.txt update
1.8.1
- typo fix
1.8.0
- Nginx Proxy Cache support, uninstall script, use ssl optimization
1.7.0
- various bugfixes
1.6.9
- fixed php notice
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching alternatives
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FAQ
Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 16, 2026
Is Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching free?
Yes. Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching safe to use in 2026?
Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 600+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 7 years ago, and scores 39/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching?
Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching is active on 600+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 61,865 times since it launched in November 2015. It was downloaded 797 times in the last 30 days.
Does Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching work with WordPress 7.1?
Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching is officially tested up to WordPress 5.2.29, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching need?
Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching requires PHP 5.2.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching last updated?
The latest version, 1.8.3, was released on October 21, 2019 (7 years ago).
Who makes Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching?
Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching is developed and maintained by Razvan Stanga.
What are the best alternatives to Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching?
The most popular alternatives to Varnish/Nginx Proxy Caching are WP Super Cache (1M+ installs), WP Fastest Cache (1M+ installs) and WP-Optimize (1M+ installs).
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